Happy St. Patrick’s Day! Today I am sharing a recipe for Irish Potato Cakes with you, the perfect accompaniment to a hearty breakfast. The name varies a bit based on the area. They are also known as Fadge in Northern Ireland, Potato Scones in the Isle of Man, and Tattie Scones in Scotland.
This is a great way to use up extra mashed potatoes leftover from the night before, as long as they don’t contain a lot of milk and butter to make them too watery. Try to use mashed potatoes made from starchy potatoes (Russet). I don’t make mashed potatoes often, so I just boiled a few the morning I made these.
This recipe definitely has room for a few variations. Toss in any favorite herbs you have lying around, especially chives. Green onions or grated cheese would also work well.
I heated the cast iron skillet over medium heat, but decreased it to medium low once I added the potato cakes. You don’t want the edges browning too quickly before the middle gets a chance to cook.
If you are feeding a crowd, the recipe can easily be doubled to make 16-20 potato cakes. Plus, you will get to use the whole egg.
Irish Potato Cakes Recipe
Adapted from Irish American Mom
Irish Potato Cakes
Ingredients
- 3 cups mashed russet potatoes
- 1/2 cup all purpose flour divided
- 1 teaspoon onion powder
- 1/4 teaspoon salt
- 2 ounces (4 tablespoons) butter divided
- 1/2 beaten large egg
Instructions
- In a large bowl, add mashed potatoes and allow to sit at room temperature for 30 minutes if chilled.
- Mix in 1/4 cup of the flour, onion powder, and salt using a potato masher. Melt 1 ounce (2 tablespoons) of the butter and add to the potatoes with half a beaten egg to form the dough.
- On a floured surface, add dough and knead in remaining 1/4 cup flour. Gently press down the dough to form a disc 1/2 inch thick. Use a 2 1/2-3 inch circular cutter to cut out the potato cakes. Form the remaining dough back together to get more potato cakes.
- In a large skillet, melt remaining butter over medium heat. Add the potato cakes in batches, 1 inch apart. Reduce heat to medium low and cook until the bottoms are golden brown. Flip and cook other side until golden and potato cakes are heated through. Repeat with remaining potato cakes.
- Serve immediately with bacon, sausage, and eggs.
Polly
Can I make them in advance? Cos I have some potatos which seems like going to go bad soon, I want to use them to make something.
Tara
Hi Polly! You can make the mashed potatoes in advance (without much milk or butter), then refrigerate until ready to assemble and serve the potato cakes.
Sarah
I want to make for my class for international day, however, I have a serious egg allergy and can not use egg is there something else I could substitute?
Tara
Hi Sarah! I have only made these with egg, but you may have luck with a vegan egg substitute? The egg is mostly used to bind together the potato and form them into the cakes so make sure to substitute with something that will work in a similar manner.